Former high-ranking Holden administration official resigns from city government

BATON ROUGE – A high-ranking member of the former mayor's administration who remained on the payroll after Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome took over is leaving for a job in the Ascension Parish government, WBRZ learned Tuesday.

The mayor's office has confirmed William Daniel submitted his resignation Tuesday morning. Daniel was most recently the director of environmental services, a division of the city's Public Works Department. Daniel was at the helm of the division since April.

For the first few months of the Broome administration, he remained in his role from Kip Holden's tenure – running the city's day-to-day operations as Chief Administrative Officer.

In a text message with WBRZ anchor Michael Shingleton, Daniel made it clear he was not retiring – but was resigning from city government.

Within hours of his resignation, Ascension Parish announced Daniel was hired as the new Infrastructure Division Director. Daniel will manage the Department of Transportation & Engineering and the Department of Utilities. The scope of responsibility will include road projects, sewer projects, and Parish Utilities of Ascension, according to a news release.

Daniel was set to be replaced as CAO earlier this year by Troy Bell, an out-of-towner hired by the mayor who resigned when his questionable resume came to light. Currently, former Southern chancellor James Llorens is the city's interim CAO.